It is commonly known in the art to dip the ends of brassiere frames into molten or uncured plastics material in order to provide a gob of plastics material surrounding the surrounding ends of the brassiere frame.
That approach, however, has the disadvantage that firstly the plastics material hardens after its application to the tip, thus providing a source of discomfort to the ultimate wearer of the garment incorporating the brassiere frame, and secondly, that it increases wear on the garment fabric at the enlarged ends of the brassiere frame.
Further, the commonly adopted dipping technique results in an increase in the transverse cross-section of the frame, this in turn requiring a larger pocket to be provided in the garment into which the frame is inserted, and, in turn, resulting in looseness of the frame within the pocket at positions intermediate the ends thereof. This results in an increase in wear on the fabric providing the pocket due to movement of the uncoated portion of the frame within the pocket relative to the surrounding fabric.
Alternate methods of providing tips on brassiere frames, are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,599,643, Schwartz, issued Aug. 17, 1991, 3,799,175, Rowell, issued Mar. 26, 1974, 4,133,316, Schwartz, issued Jan. 9, 1979, 4,306,565, Rowell, issued Dec. 22, 1981, and 4,777,668, Weston, issued Oct. 18, 1988.
Each of these patents teach the fitting of a pre-molded plastics tip onto the respective ends of the frames subsequent to the manufacture of the frames and the tips as entirely separate items.
While the tips can be applied to the ends of the frames by automated machinery, this represents added costs in the manufacture of the frames.
More importantly, the pre-molding of the tips from soft plastics material, and their subsequent installation on the ends of the frames, requires that the width of the tips be greater than the width of the frame, in order to provide sufficient strength in the tip to permit forcible passage of the tip onto frame, or, in the alternative to permit passage into the tip of a barb or other securing member provided at the end of the frame.
As the width of the tip is of necessity greater than the width of the frame, this in turn requires that the width of the pocket in the garment be correspondingly increased in order to accept the frame tip, with the disadvantage then occurring of scuffing of the fabric of the pocket by the edges of the frame at all positions intermediate the respective tips.
The industry prefers that the size of the pocket in the garment be minimalized to the greatest possible extent, and preferably, to an extent such that insertion of the brassiere frame is permitted by the inherent stretch in the fabric forming the pocket, as opposed to the pocket being formed oversized to accommodate passage therethrough of the tip of the frame.
A significant advantage of pre-molded tips is that a relatively soft and pliable plastics material that can be employed which provides a cushioning effect at the free end of the tip. Thus, the tip can be made readily flexible in directions perpendicular to the width of the frame, and additionally can present limited flexibility in the direction of the width of the frame.